Top 10 IT resume tips of 2013

Your resume is, in many cases, your only contact with hiring managers and potential employers. What you showcase can mean the difference between getting the interview and being summarily passed over.

"If there is something critical in your background it needs to land on your first page and preferably in the top half or it just won't be obvious," says Smith-Proulx.

Smith-Proulx next took Smith's career highlights and worded them in a more easy-to-digest way and moved them to the first page of his resume. This ensured hiring managers could quickly get a feeling for the major impact Smith had with his previous employer.

The most important skills to highlight are the ones employers are looking for, so Smith-Proulx brought to the forefront what was notable about each previous position Smith held.

"This was a way to pull out some strong career highlights" that had been buried in the word-heavy original resume, says Smith-Proulx.

9. Keep It Short

This is no time for five- or six-page expositions. You want to keep hiring managers hungry for more information, which they can get in the interview.

Sampson and her team at Regal Resumes could see immediately that Rob Sorenson had a depth and breadth of both corporate and client consulting experience. However, the major sticking point was the length of Sorenson's resume, Sampson says. Though he had a lot of value-added content, the length was distracting, and could be problematic for anyone reviewing it, she says.

"Because hiring managers and recruiters are inundated with resumes, they tend to lose focus after one to two pages for entry-level candidates or management applicants and three pages for senior or executive-level applicants," she says. Sampson's first task was to edit Sorenson's resume down to a manageable length.

A significant portion of Sorenson's resume outlined his extensive consulting experience, but it wasn't necessary to outline every client engagement, Sampson says. By eliminating much of the unnecessary details of each consulting assignment, Sampson and Sorenson were able to clarify and accentuate Sorenson's successes and focus his resume on the next step in his career, she says.

"We redirected the focus of his resume from technical consulting to that of an IT manager or director role," Sampson says. "He has a wealth of relevant managerial experience, but it was difficult for potential employers to find, because it was buried beneath the technical consulting language."

10. Consider Getting Professional Help

Working with a resume specialist or career coach can give you a huge advantage. If you're not getting the response you want, or are being offered positions that aren't suitable, get professional career help.

A professional resume writer can often see problems or issues that you can't, and can be an objective voice when you're trying to land that dream job.